Meethaq raises Sukuk offering to OMR44.6m

MUSCAT: Meethaq, the pioneer of Islamic banking in Oman from Bank Muscat, has received the Capital Market Authority’s (CMA’s) approval to increase the original offer size of the Meethaq Sukuk series 1 from OMR25 million to OMR44.60 million, which is the total amount of the subscription received.

The first series of Meethaq evoked an overwhelming response from individuals, investors and institutions. All successful applicants will receive 100 per cent allocation of their Sukuk in their investor accounts with the Muscat Capital and Depository Company (MCD) as Meethaq has also received CMA approval for exercising the green shoe option and allocation of Meethaq Sukuk Series 1 to investors.

Sulaiman Al Harthy, deputy chief executive officer, Meethaq Islamic Banking, expressed his delight at the success of the first Sukuk subscription launched by Meethaq, a leading Islamic banking entity to obtain approval for the first ever Sukuk issuance.

He also expressed his appreciation and thanks to the regulatory authorities—CMA, the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) and MCD—for their support and guidance on the Sukuk issuance making Meethaq’s initiative possible.

Al Harthy said: “The first Islamic Sukuk subscription has evoked an overwhelming response by investors, where the Sukuk issuance was oversubscribed by almost two times, proving investors’ confidence in Meethaq.

Al Harthy asserted that this success will be an incentive for further investment in developing innovative banking products and services to benefit customers and meeting the needs of companies for financing projects in various fields and sectors.

He thanked the investor community, both retail and institutional, for their confidence in Meethaq, which aims to develop and expand banking services and facilities offered in accordance with the principles of Islamic Sharia.

It is worth mentioning that Meethaq received the final approval from CMA in May to launch the first OMR100 million Sukuk programme. Meethaq is the first Islamic banking entity in the Sultanate to obtain CMA approval for the first ever Sukuk issuance targeting retail investors in Oman.

The maiden OMR25 million issuance, opened for subscription from May 21 to June 1, and is part of a larger OMR100 million Sukuk programme for retail and institutional investors. The issue has an indicative profit rate of 5 per cent per annum with a tenure of five years.